THE GEOGRAPHER ONLINE

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    • Part 1: Geographical Themes >
      • Option B: Oceans and coastal margins >
        • 1. Ocean–atmosphere interactions
        • 2. Interactions between oceans and coastal places
        • 3. Managing coastal margins
        • 4. Ocean management futures
      • Option D: Geophysical Hazards >
        • 1. Geophysical systems
        • 2. Geophysical hazard risks
        • 3. Hazard risk and vulnerability
        • 4. Future resilience and adaptation
    • Part 2: Core Units (SL&HL) >
      • Unit 1: Changing Population >
        • 1. Population and economic development patterns
        • 2. Changing Populations and Places
        • 3. Challenges and opportunities
      • Unit 2: Global climate—vulnerability and resilience >
        • 1. Causes of global climate change
        • 2. Consequences of global climate change
        • 3. Responding to global climate change
      • Unit 3: Global resource consumption and security >
        • 1: Global trends in consumption
        • 2: Impacts of changing trends in resource consumption
        • 3: Resource stewardship
    • Part 3: HL Core Extensions >
      • Unit 4: Power, places and networks >
        • 1. Global interactions and global power
      • Unit 5: Human development and diversity
      • Unit 6: Global risks and resilience
    • Internal Assessment
    • Why should I study IB Geography?
  • IB Geography (Old Syllabus)
    • IB Core >
      • 1. Populations in Transition
      • 2. Disparities in Wealth and Development
      • 3. Patterns in Environmental Quality and Sustainability
      • 4. Patterns in Resource Consumption
    • Part 1: Geographical Themes >
      • Oceans and their Coastal Margins
      • Hazards and disasters - risk assessment and response
      • Freshwater - issues and conflicts
      • Urban Environments
    • Global Interactions - HL >
      • Measuring Global Interactions
      • Changing Space - The Shrinking world
      • Economic Interactions and Flows
      • Environmental Change
      • Sociocultural Exchanges
      • Political Outcomes
      • Global Interactions at the Local Level
    • IB Guidance >
      • Syllabus Guidance
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    • Extended Essay
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    • Theme 1: Population and settlement >
      • Population Dynamics
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    • Theme 2: The natural environment >
      • Plate Tectonics
      • Coasts
      • Rivers
      • Weather and Climate
      • Climate and Ecosystems
    • Theme 3: Economic development >
      • Development
      • Food Production
      • Industry
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      • Tourism
      • Water
      • Environmental Risks of Economic development
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Changing space - the shrinking world


Index

1. Time Space Convergence
2. Extensions and density of networks
3. The spread of mobile phones

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Time Space Convergence 

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Key Terms
  • Transport systems: the means by which materials, products and people are transferred from place to place.
  • Communications systems: the ways in which information is transmitted from place to place in the form of ideas, instructions and images.
  • Diffusion: the spread of a phenomenon over time and space.
  • Friction of distance: as the distance from a place increases, the interactions with that place decrease, usually because the time and cost involved increase with distance.
  • Distance decay: the reduction in the amount of movement or spatial interaction between two places the greater the distance thy are apart.
  • Accessibility: a measure of the ease with which an individual can reach features in the wider environment.
  • Time-space convergence: this process concerns the changing relationship between time and space, and notably the impacts of transportation improvements on such a relationship. It is closely related to the concept of speed, which indicates how much space can be traveled over a specific amount of time. 
  • Time-space divergence: when the journey time between places increases due to congestion, lower speed limits or other limiting factors. 
  • Logistics: the management of the flow of goods, information and other resources between origin and point of consumption.
  • Supply chain: the movement of products from a manufacturer to a distributor to a retailer and any points in between.
  • Airline hub: an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destinations. 
  • Deregulation: the lifting of government controls over an industry which usually results in greater competition and lower prices for consumers.
  • Bulk cargo: a commodity that is transported un-packaged in large quantities. 
  • Energy pathways: supply routes between energy producers and consumers; they may be pipelines, shipping routes or electricity cables. 
  • Choke point: a point at which traffic or other movement can easily become blocked. 

Make notes on the YouTube on Globalization. Which devices made the world smaller, how did they do this and what impact have they had on the world?

What is Time-space convergence?
The process, made possible by technological innovations in transportation and communication, by which distant places are brought closer together in terms of the time taken to travel (or send messages) between them.

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A MUST read - Transportation and Space 
Essay: Explain what factors influence the Time-Space convergence?

Note: [10 mark] essays ONLY in Global Interactions do not require evaluation.

Extended watching: 
Artfully Visualizing our Humanity

In what ways doe this video demonstrate the concept of a 'shrinking world'?
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Print the following document to help explain how Sea and Air travel have impacted the world and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each. 
Advantages - Disadvantages of Sea/Air Travel
File Size: 23 kb
File Type: docx
Download File



Sea Travel - Containerization

View and discuss this BBC article on historical shipping
    • What does it show?
    • What were the constraints on shipping?
    • What has changed? (see image on right)
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Modern Shipping Lanes

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What is Containerization and what impact has it had on the world and Globalization? Watch the YouTube below.

Advantages
  • Cheaper over long distances
  • No cost in building transport routes (seas/oceans already exist)
  • Good for bulky low cost non-perishable goods e.g. coal
  • Costs are spread over a large area (modern container ships hold thousands of containers)
  • Containerization has sped up the process of loading and unloading. Unlike planes containers can be directly transferred to lorries and trains.
  • Refrigerated containers now allow more products to be transported
Disadvantages
  • Much slower than air travel
  • Some countries are landlocked so can not receive shipments
  • Ships are expensive to build - steel is expensive
  • There are long waiting lists for large containers ships
  • Oil prices are expensive so fuel for ships is expensive
  • Some routes have to be built and maintained and enlarged e.g. Panama and Suez Canal
  • Some shipping routes have to be dredged
  • Ports are expensive to build and can damage delicate wetland areas
  • Risk of attack by pirates and cost of protecting ships e.g. Horn of Africa
  • Ships can have accidents and cause environmental damage e.g. oil leaks and hitting reefs
  • Cargo can be lost overboard in bad weather
  • Can encourage smuggling


Air Travel

Watch the YouTube on the left and consider. Where are the largest concentrations of flights and when do they occur?

Advantages
  • Fast over long distances
  • Planes don't get stuck in traffic, unlike cars and lorries
  • Good for high value perishable goods e.g. flowers, animals
  • Can reach landlocked countries
Disadvantages
  • Planes cause a lot of pollution (noise, air and visual) - contribute greenhouse effect
  • Cost of flying is expensive, especially as price of oil increases
  • Airports are expensive to build and take up large areas
  • Can only carry small loads compared to ships
  • Air routes are fixed
  • Planes can be cancelled due to bad weather
  • Aircraft are expensive to build and maintain
  • Waiting lists for aircraft are long

How the air industry has changed - Images from the Telegraph Airline History

Extensions and Density of Networks

Picture

Key Terms
  • Internet: a global system of interconnected computer networks.
  • Internet penetration rate: the percentage of the population in a country or world region which access to the internet.
  • Cyberspace: the virtual shared universe of the world's computer networks; it has come to describe the global information space. 
  • Digital divide: refers to the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technology and those with very limited access to it, or none at all. 


  • Green data centers: data centers that are much more efficient at cooling computers compared with traditional data centers.
  • Global civil society: all movements, associations or individual citizens, independent from the state, whose aim is to transform policies, standards or social structures through communal efforts at a national or international level. 



Information and the Internet 

What is the internet and why has it grown? 
Watch the YouTube on the right and read the article from the Daily Mail. 

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Describe the pattern of internet growth. Use the BBC Technology map and the image on the left. 

The internet does not just exist as a 'cloud' concept it is based in physical technology and networks. Explain what this means and give examples. 

Make notes on how the internet has changed the world:
  • 10 ways Internet has changed the world.
  • The role of social networking in the Arab Spring.
  • Pupils are disadvantaged if they don't have internet access at home.
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IB Style Question:
Explain what the internet is and how it has further 'shrunk' the world. [10]




The Spread of Mobile Phones


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Possible project: 
Donating old mobile phones for charity


Case Study: Kenya Vs. France




Compare the top mobile phone using countries in the world. Pay especial attention to number of phones per 100 people.
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Watch the following two YouTubes and make notes on how mobile phones have changed over the last few years. What about Africa? What has been the impact on the African continent? 
  • Africa’s Mobile Explosion

Worksheet - The mobile phone industry over the years
File Size: 82 kb
File Type: docx
Download File


For further evidence on mobile phone penetration
We Are Social - Guide to social digital and mobile worldwide jan2014 from Digital Insurance

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Use the Slide Share on the right to fill in this worksheet.
Worksheet - Kenya template
File Size: 134 kb
File Type: docx
Download File

Silicon Savannah - Why Nairobi Is The Next World Tech Capital from On Device Research

Make further notes using the following links and YouTubes:
  1. BlackBerry Lists The Most Popular Apps In Kenya
  2. How much will technology boom change Kenya?
  3. Kenya's tech visionaries lead the way

Discuss the following graphs?  Compare France to Kenya
  • Mobile Network coverage France
  • Android Vs. iOS: What’s The Most Popular Mobile Operating System In Your Country?

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IB Style Question:
Discuss how important the mobile phone has been to contributing to the reduction in frictional distance in the world [15]


www.thegeographeronline.net
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  • Home
    • How to make a website: Tools and experiences
    • Maps and Regions
    • Travel Photographs and Videos
    • Live: Global Hazards and Disasters
    • Geography in the news
    • The Big Geography Challenge
  • New IB Geography 2017 onwards
    • IB Geography Introduction
    • Part 1: Geographical Themes >
      • Option B: Oceans and coastal margins >
        • 1. Ocean–atmosphere interactions
        • 2. Interactions between oceans and coastal places
        • 3. Managing coastal margins
        • 4. Ocean management futures
      • Option D: Geophysical Hazards >
        • 1. Geophysical systems
        • 2. Geophysical hazard risks
        • 3. Hazard risk and vulnerability
        • 4. Future resilience and adaptation
    • Part 2: Core Units (SL&HL) >
      • Unit 1: Changing Population >
        • 1. Population and economic development patterns
        • 2. Changing Populations and Places
        • 3. Challenges and opportunities
      • Unit 2: Global climate—vulnerability and resilience >
        • 1. Causes of global climate change
        • 2. Consequences of global climate change
        • 3. Responding to global climate change
      • Unit 3: Global resource consumption and security >
        • 1: Global trends in consumption
        • 2: Impacts of changing trends in resource consumption
        • 3: Resource stewardship
    • Part 3: HL Core Extensions >
      • Unit 4: Power, places and networks >
        • 1. Global interactions and global power
      • Unit 5: Human development and diversity
      • Unit 6: Global risks and resilience
    • Internal Assessment
    • Why should I study IB Geography?
  • IB Geography (Old Syllabus)
    • IB Core >
      • 1. Populations in Transition
      • 2. Disparities in Wealth and Development
      • 3. Patterns in Environmental Quality and Sustainability
      • 4. Patterns in Resource Consumption
    • Part 1: Geographical Themes >
      • Oceans and their Coastal Margins
      • Hazards and disasters - risk assessment and response
      • Freshwater - issues and conflicts
      • Urban Environments
    • Global Interactions - HL >
      • Measuring Global Interactions
      • Changing Space - The Shrinking world
      • Economic Interactions and Flows
      • Environmental Change
      • Sociocultural Exchanges
      • Political Outcomes
      • Global Interactions at the Local Level
    • IB Guidance >
      • Syllabus Guidance
      • IB Examination Guidance
    • Extended Essay
  • IGCSE Geography
    • Theme 1: Population and settlement >
      • Population Dynamics
      • Migration
      • Settlements
      • Urban Settlements
      • Urbanisation
    • Theme 2: The natural environment >
      • Plate Tectonics
      • Coasts
      • Rivers
      • Weather and Climate
      • Climate and Ecosystems
    • Theme 3: Economic development >
      • Development
      • Food Production
      • Industry
      • Energy
      • Tourism
      • Water
      • Environmental Risks of Economic development
    • GCSE Key Terms
    • GCSE Coursework
    • Alternative to Coursework
    • IGCSE Geography Examination Advice
    • IGCSE Revision Games
  • Key Stage 3
    • Year 6 >
      • My Place
      • Rivers
      • Brazil
    • Year 7 >
      • Maps and the world
      • Rocky Landscapes
      • Settlement
      • Weather & Climate
    • Year 8 >
      • Maps Introduction
      • Plate Tectonics
      • Economic Activity
      • Biomes
    • Year 9 >
      • Map Skills - review
      • Development
      • Coasts
      • Tourism
      • Paradise lost - Tourism in Thailand
  • AS Level Geography
    • World at Risk
    • Crowded Coasts
  • Geography Skills
  • Donations & Contact
  • YouTube Channel
  • Essential computer programs